About Greenstead

A registered charity and not run by any form of council, Greenstead Community Centre is self sufficient and relies heavily on the income generated through hall hire and the Filling Station Cafe. All money is put straight back into the Community Centre to enable us to build and improve the lives of our residents and surrounding areas.

The Greenstead Community Centre prides itself on a brilliant team of staff and volunteers who ensure that every person is made to feel welcome and that everyone is given a chance.

With a variety of rooms available, we can host everything from meetings and conferences to parties for all of your friends! The main hall is capable of holding over 200 people and our newly refrubished meeting room holds 45 people, perfect for training or meetings.

Ask about our hall hire today!

Our History

In the 1990’s a group of residents from the Greenstead area met to identify the need for a community centre in a deprived ward of Colchester.

They established that there was nowhere for residents to meet or a suitable place for organisations to offer activities and services to the community. The group became the Greenstead Community Association and they registered as a charity.

Consultation and Planning

A ‘Planning for Real’ consultation took place to identify the wishes and needs of the community and work began to design a building which would accommodate the needs that had been identified.

The vision was to create a dynamic and widely accessed facility that would become the hub of the community.

Raising the Funds

In 2001, £375,000 was secured from the Community Fund and additional funding secured from New Opportunities Fund, Single Regeneration Bid, Colchester Borough Council and Sure Start Colchester.

Land was leased from the council on the site of a former petrol station right at the heart of the estate.

Structure on the old petrol station site

Structure complete, decorating begins

Opening day, 2003

Opening the Centre

After a number of set backs due to contamination of the land, the building which cost just over £1 million, was eventually completed in October 2003 and officially opened on November 24th of the same year by Mrs McManus, who remained unchallenged as one of the residents who had lived in the area for the longest time.

Aims and Objectives

The centre has gone from strength to strength since it opened in 2003. It is a popular facility which welcomes, includes and benefits the whole community, and one which responds flexibly, compassionately and creatively to community need. We believe strongly in the importance of community and always consider how our centre can play a key role in the community as a whole.

We aim to provide friendly, welcoming and excellent customer service, working towards long term sustainability, so that our organisation can continue to benefit the residents of Greenstead for many years to come.

Meet the Greenstead Team

The Greenstead Community Centre is supported by some great volunteers and we couldn’t run it without them! On a day-to-day basis, we’re staffed by Nick, Katiejayne & Stephen.